Quick Cat Quiz for Cat Lovers

1. In ancient Egypt, when a household cat died, family members did what to mourn the passing of their pussycat?

a. Shave their eyebrows

b. Henna tattoo the name of their cat across their hearts

c. Make offerings of cream to the cat goddess Bastet and beat their chests while wailing

d. Burn catnip and frankincense in all of the doorways and leave offerings of cream outside the front door

2. A cat is a digitigrade animal which means:

a. They vary in the number of toes they have

b. They are adept at climbing trees, but head-first only.

c. They have soft pads on the bottom of their feet which makes them near silent in their movement

d. They walk on their toes

3. The technical term for a cat’s hairball is a:

a. Doozie

b. Bezoar

c. Furetto

d. Ailuro

4. In Catholicism, the Patron Saint of Cats is:

a. Saint Francis of Assis

b. Saint Gertrude of Nivelles

c. Saint Garfield of Davis

d. Saint Catherine of Alexandria

5. Strings for guitars, fiddles, harps and tennis rackets once used catgut. True or False?

6. Kitten litter-mates can have different fathers. True or False?

7. What is the largest recorded litter for one cat?

a. 10

b. 12

c. 16

d. 19

8. Which famous historical figure had a deep distaste for the dirtiness of dogs, but loved cats so much that he reportedly cut the sleeve from his robe to avoid disturbing his cat that fell asleep in his arms?

a. Winston Churchill

b. Prophet Mohammed

c. Buddha

d. St. Francis of Assisi

9. According to another well-loved legend, which famous historical figure stroked their beloved cat three times, thus granting it — and all cats thereafter — seven lives.

a. Prophet Mohammed

b. Buddha

c. King Tutankhamen (King Tut of Egypt)

d. Cleopatra

10. Catnip is exciting to some cats because:

a. It smells similar to a queen (adult female) in heat.

b. It is illegal in many states

c. It is chemically similar to hormones produced by a lactating mother cat

d. It can trigger visual and olfactory hallucinations

11. Everyone knows cheetahs are the fastest land animal, but which cat claims second place?

a. Clouded leopard

b. Amur leopard

c. Caracal

d. Serval

12. An ancient Chinese legend maintains that the cat is the cross-breeding between which two animals?

a. Fox and a rabbit

b. Monkey and lioness

c. Monkey and an otter

d. Lioness and a weasel

Next page: The Answers

1. In ancient Egypt, when a household cat died, family members did what to mourn the passing of their pussycat?

a. Shave their eyebrows

In ancient Egypt, cats were sacred and associated with the goddess Bastet. Thus, when a family cat left the world of the living, family members would mourn by shaving off their eyebrows, as well as, host elaborate funerals. The cat was typically embalmed and buried in the family tomb or in a pet cemetery with a wooden mask. To help the newly deceased cat pass to the world of the dead, tiny mice mummies were often also buried with the beloved feline.

2. A cat is a digitigrade animal which means:

d. They walk on their toes

Like most fast mammals, cats walk and run on their toes.

3. The technical term for a cat’s hairball is a:

b. Bezoar

The term for hairballs in my household however is just plain gross.

4. In Catholicism, the Patron Saint of Cats is:

b. Saint Gertrude of Nivelles

5. Strings for guitars and tennis rackets once used catgut. True and False.

True because the term catgut was used to refer to musical instrument strings, but false because the source of the string was not from the gut of cats. Rather, the source of these strings were usually sheep, cow and goat intestines. The term catgut may be a shortened version of cattle gut, but the etymology is not entirely clear.

6. Kitten littermates can have different fathers. True.

7. What is the largest recorded litter for one cat?

d. 19

A normal litter of kittens ranges from one to six kittens, although up to nine is not uncommon. The largest known litter however was 19 kittens, of which 15 survived.

8. Which famous historical figure had a deep distaste for the dirtiness of dogs but loved cats so much that he reportedly cut the sleeve from his robe to avoid disturbing his cat that fell asleep in his arms?

9. According to another well-loved legend, which famous historical figure stroked their beloved cat three times, thus granting it — and all cats thereafter — seven lives.

a. Prophet Mohammed

According to legend, the multiple lives all started when Prophet Mohammed granted his favorite cat, Muezza, seven lives and the ability to always land on all four paws after a fall.

10. Catnip is exciting to some cats because:

a. It smells similar to a queen (adult female) in heat.

Catnip contains the chemical transnepetalactone, which smells similar to the substance secreted by a female cat in oeterous (in heat). Catnip has a similar effect on cats as marijuana does on people, so you can see why some cats bliss-out when given this kitty treat! MEOW-ZA!

11. Everyone knows cheetahs are the fastest land animal, but which cat claims second place?

d. serval

Second to the Cheetah in speed (60 mph), the serval reaches speeds of 45-50 mph.

12. An ancient Chinese legend maintains that the cat is the cross-breeding between which two animals?

b. a monkey and lioness

Ancient Chinese legend maintains that the cat is the product of a lioness and a monkey – the lioness endowing her offspring with dignity and the monkey with curiosity and playfulness.

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149 comments

Very interesting, I didn't know them all. Not sure about the catnip though: I know it is not clear. The answer given here doesn't explain why females are as mad as males with it.
As far as Christianity is concerned, well, considering the millions of cats burnt with or without women at the stake, I suspect that their patron is either very idle or totally powerless.